Top 10: Sports Mama's Boys

Number 3

Eli Manning

New York Giants

It didn’t take long for Eli Manning’s immaturity to show when he refused to suit up for the San Diego Chargers and forced a draft-day trade to the New York Giants. Eli, who was the legitimate mama’s boy in the Manning family, incessantly dons a pouting expression of frustration and looks like he is threatening to cry at any moment.

Playing in New York, Manning is showered with criticism, but accepting responsibility isn’t something he’s learned to do very well. Maybe he just wants to crawl back into his mother’s womb, where life was so much easier.

Number 2

Mark Cuban

Dallas Mavericks

It’s hard to call Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban a mama’s boy considering any half-decent mother would never dress him in played-out '90’s high-school clothes and she would, at the very least, brush his hair.

Cuban is 50 Cent-rich, but you wouldn’t know it; he sits courtside and draws a closer resemblance to a spoiled, unkempt teenager than he does a billionaire. If he’s not pouting about the Dallas Mavericks getting worked over, he’s probably yelling at the referees as if they knocked over his ice cream cone. Cuban admitted in his own blog that he is a whiner and no amount of NBA fines will fix a problem that mom should have treated years ago.

Number 1

Vince Carter

New Jersey Nets

If there ever was a face to match the mama’s boy definition, it would be that of Vince Carter. While Vinsanity is more than capable of being one of the NBA’s premier superstars, his childish antics on and off the court have left his followers with a very different image.

Carter will always embellish injuries like a soccer player. A hard foul always draws at least a giant wince and usually turns into limping to the locker room, only to see him return minutes later at full strength. While most NBA players like a hard, tough image, the injury-prone Carter has softened his look on a number of occasions with off-court complaints. He once stated that he would never dunk again in Toronto after his relationship with the Raptors soured.

The emphatic cherry on top is Carter’s mother, who has often acted as his spokesperson. In the 2004 off-season, she demanded a trade on her son’s behalf. Carter will eventually take on life’s challenges on his own, but for now he is taking advantage of that special bond with his mother.

mommy dearest

While most athletes grow up and live life without leaning on mom’s shoulder, there is a group who are still tied to mother’s apron strings. At some point, they will have to let go but obviously for some, that time is definitely not now.